class full of education studentsPre-service teacher candidates will host an exhibition Friday reflecting their perspectives and experiences in working with newcomer students.

Exhibition to promote best practices for supporting newcomer students

Pre-service teacher candidates are preparing to host their second annual exhibition, “Building Bridges: Promoting Best Practices for Supporting Newcomer Students,” featuring facts and pieces of their work that reflect their perspectives and experiences in working with newcomer students.

The event, set for Friday, Jan. 24, is the culmination of months of research, reflection, and experiential work by the teacher candidates. It brings together pre-service teachers from two service-learning courses — Project RISE (Refugee and Immigrant Student Engagement) and Teaching English Language Learners (ELL).

“The exhibition provides a platform for future educators to share insight on how to best support these students in overcoming challenges they face in the classroom,” says Fatima Fakih, a doctoral student and sessional instructor who is co-facilitating the exhibition.

“Newcomers are often portrayed negatively across social, political and other domains, impacting the way individuals and groups are perceived and treated. This experience has helped our teacher candidates reflect on how best to serve and teach students from immigrant and refugee backgrounds, and now they get the opportunity to share what they have learned.”

Adjunct professor Nesreen Elkord hopes the event will spark important conversations about the role of education in welcoming and supporting newcomer students.

“By raising awareness and providing a platform for teacher candidates to share their work, we can hopefully help foster a more inclusive and supportive environment for newcomer students in Windsor-Essex,” Dr. Elkord says.

Through her ELL service-learning hours at St. Michael’s Adult Catholic High School, teacher candidate Melissa Morand has gained valuable insight and practical skills that she hopes will help her create an equitable and encouraging learning environment when she becomes a teacher.

“Working with ELLs has given me a new appreciation for our educational privileges as born and raised Canadians. It has also deepened my understanding of the skills and strategies needed to support students navigating the challenges of learning a new and complex language like English.”

Morand’s insights and experiences will be presented at the exhibition alongside a variety of displays, research-backed resources, and case studies presented by close to 40 pre-service teacher candidates.

The event will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday in the CAW Student Centre. Admission is free and open to all members of the university community, as well as local educators and administrators.

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